


The Gift

by Mouldsee



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-14
Updated: 2014-01-14
Packaged: 2018-01-08 17:25:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1135408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mouldsee/pseuds/Mouldsee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yunho becomes a housekeeper for two weeks in a bid to protect his sister from being a victim of playboy pop star, Shim Changmin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [humanitys_cutest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanitys_cutest/gifts).



> Story best accompanied with “Notes N Words” by One Ok Rock

“GET OUT! GET THE FUCK OUT!”

 

The PA’s eyes widened and scurried out of the dressing room quickly, slamming the door behind her in her haste to get out of the room. And just in the nick of time, a vase followed in her wake and shattered against the wooden surface. Spilling roses and water everywhere.

 

The room was silent, both his staff and the backstage too frightened to make a sound just in case any one of them gets singled out as the next target.

 

“Incompetent fool.” Changmin hissed, ignoring the mess he’d just made and glared at the make up artist who had was in the midst of desperately trying to blend into the wall, “What the fuck are you waiting for? I don’t have all day.”

 

The poor girl inched forward, foundation brush in hand, looking like she wished she had made a different career choice.

 

Changmin frowned into the mirror. He didn't like what he saw. While the thick paste was already applied over his face to cover up the minute skin flaws and dark circles, he still looked tired and haggard. Lines bracketed his mouth and his eyes looked bloodshot. He looked like shit. In fact, he _felt_ like shit, the pounding headache and the sharp pain in his shoulders and neck made him want to go home to curl in bed, maybe sleep forever.

 

His mouth curled at the sight of his sorry looking state. He turned to snap at the make up artist tentatively applying highlighters around his cheekbones to do a better job, when the dressing room door flew open with a bang, and his manager stalked in, clearly furious. He kicked aside the broken shards and flowers, waving a newspaper in his hand.

 

“What the fuck. I let you leave my sight for one minute and you get yourself into all sorts of trouble.”

 

The roll of newspaper landed on the table with a smack, and across the front page the headline screamed in large bold print, ‘SHIM CHANGMIN TURNS VIOLENT’. Below the headline was a picture of him, face twisted into a snarl, fist pulled back, ready to land a punch.

 

Changmin tensed. It was not new news to him. It had been the first thing he’d seen this morning online after getting a phone call from Kyuhyun, his close friend from the same agency.

 

His manager jabbed a finger at the article, “ _Why_? Why did you have to hit him when the reporters were around?! Were you that drunk? Or have you gone soft in the head?!”

 

“I didn’t know there were reporters around. I was just there for a drink, and he provoked me first.” Changmin grounded out, aware that the entire room was listening in, “And that stupid PA didn’t do her checks while I was there.”

 

“That’s no excuse and you know it! We have a new album to promote in two weeks and you go off and pull a stunt like that?!”

 

Changmin sat stone-faced. He knew he’d made a mistake. But he couldn’t admit it. Not now. Not in front of a room full of people whom he knew hated his guts.

 

His manager ran a hand over his face and sighed, looking weary, he probably had been fielding calls all morning before storming in to confront him, “Look, the higher ups called and they want you to lay low till the promotions start.”

 

In other words, he was grounded. Like a kid who had done something naughty and was now told to stay in his room.

 

“Like hell I would. What are they going to do if I don’t? Pull a plug on the album?”

 

Changmin smirked, but his expression was still bitter. He knew they wouldn’t. He was their top money-maker. He could sneeze and still rake in millions. There was no way management would lift a finger against him.

 

The older man settled a heavy hand on his shoulder, his voice was now quiet, “Your song is still be reviewed.”

 

Changmin froze. He was being blackmailed. He had submitted his own work for the very first time, and it was being used as leverage. He wanted to plant his fist into something. Someone. Anyone.

 

He’d lost. He knew it. Everyone in the fucking room knew it.

 

He refused to respond, but his eyes were blazing with fury as he focused on his own reflection. He had too much pride to continue this conversation that would only lead to a verbal concession.

 

Two heavy pats on the shoulder and manager hyung turned away with a sigh, “Just stay home till this blows over. You look like you need the break. Let us handle the rest.”

 

And just like that. He was under house arrest. Shim Changmin, top star in Korea, was to stay at home and twiddle his thumbs as a punishment.

 

He couldn’t resist having the last word. It was childish, but it still gave him a little satisfaction.

 

“By the way, I fired the housekeeper. Get me a new one,” he threw out, hating how it just sounded so petty, but he hated the helplessness he was feeling even more. He needed control once again, “Make sure she’s pretty.”

 

The door slammed shut once again.

 

He looked around the room, narrowing his eyes at everyone who was pretending that they hadn’t eavesdropped on the entire conversation.

 

“Do I have to clean up the fucking mess by the door myself?!”

 

 *

 

Yunho always loved the Christmas season. The Christmas carols, the twinkly fairy lights, the cold winter air and people. Everybody just seemed, happier. Perhaps it was the gifts they were buying for their friends and family, or the ones they are about to receive. The air just seems, different - full of excitement and joy. He wanted to stop in the middle of busy Myeongdong and just take it all in. Maybe twirl a little.

 

Except that maybe it would be a tad bit weird to do that.

 

But he was twirling inside. It was his final day at work, because it was the holidays and the boys at the Center for Juvenile Delinquents were all home for Christmas and will stay out of his hair for the next two weeks. Which gave him loads of freedom and time.

 

He would spend time with Jihye, roll around the house and watch TV, maybe even clean his bedroom. Yunho paused at that thought, and pushed it aside quickly. He could even go to the amusement park! And on Christmas Eve, do some volunteer work at the nearby church. Meanwhile, there were days in between where he could just roll around at home, with nothing to do, and nowhere to go.

 

It sounded like bliss.

 

Yunho continued his stroll, smiling beatifically at the harried shoppers, oblivious to the glares that he was getting for blocking their way… and walked right into a group of chattering girls, knocking over one who was in the midst of taking a picture.

 

“Yah! Watch where you’re going you clumsy oaf!” she shot him a look of pure venom, “You just ruined my shot of Changmin oppa!”

 

The rest of the girls were all glaring murderously.

 

Yunho had experience in dealing with the most violent boys, but felt like the biggest brute he’s had to wrestle amongst his charges had nothing on these girls.

 

“I’m so sorry! Erm… how about I take a picture of you with your oppa?”

 

He had obviously said the right thing. Because the beams of joy from girls and the excited passing of their phones to him meant that everything was forgiven, and he was their most favourite person in the world. Or at least, the most favourite person in Myeongdong.

 

Yunho looked around for a boy amongst the group but all he saw was a group of five smiling girls, who were all fluffing their hair and already posing.

 

“Alright, now… where is this oppa of yours?”

 

The simultaneous eyerolls was amusing. One of the girls pointed at the building behind her in an expression of incredulity.

 

“How can you not know who Changmin oppa is?!”

 

The rest nodded vehemently, eyes wide with disbelief.

 

Yunho looked up, and there, plastered on the entire surface of a five-storied building, was a giant black and white poster of a man. Long long legs encased in black leather took up about three storeys, his head was cocked, with straight longish bangs falling to cover one eye, while the remaining one smouldered down at the crowd below. His arms held up a guitar that rested at the back of his head. Overall, the image screamed _I don’t give a fuck_.

 

Ahhhh, Changmin oppa is a pretty boy pop star. Right.

 

“Shim Changmin is THE king of Kpop!”

 

“National treasure!

 

“Sex god!”

 

Five giant sighs of longing.

 

Yunho smothered a laugh, took the pictures and left. Leaving the now grateful teen fangirls who were gushing over the pictures in their phones with an indulgent wave of his hand.

 

Shim Changmin. The name did sound familiar. Yunho had not been paying much attention to the pop scene in recent years, but it rang a bell. Probably heard it on the news or something.

 

_Sex god._

He shook his head, the girls weren’t even old enough to know what that actually meant for goodness sake. He laughed softly to himself while looking at his watch, and decided that it was time to head home for dinner. It was a rare opportunity for a home cooked meal, and he wasn’t going to pass up a chance to enjoy Jihye’s excellent culinary skills.

 

The lights were red at the crossing junction, Yunho stamped his feet to ward off the cold and stared absently at the giant video screen on the side of one of the malls, it was currently featuring the news highlights of the day.

 

And there was that face again. But this time, it was in full coloured motion, and not so pretty. Changmin’s face was murderous, his lips pulled back in a teeth bearing snarl as he flung a fist forward to punch an older man in the face.

 

The camera zoomed in on the mad fury before the video was cut off, turning once again the news anchor calmly reading off her script.

 

Yunho raised his brows, pretty boy had a bad attitude.  Looks like the national treasure’s gotten into a shitload of trouble.

 

The lights turned green, and Yunho’s attention was once again on making his way home to a good dinner. Shim Changmin the pretty boy pop star and his antics were not his problem. In fact, anything with a bad attitude and a thirst for violence was not his business for the next two weeks.

 

It was Christmas for goodness sake.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

There was no dinner. Jihye wasn’t even present to welcome him home.

 

Yunho stared into the empty rice cooker in disappointment. There wasn’t even any hot soup or cold dishes set aside to ease his hunger pangs. It looked like he had to settle with ramyeon. He shuddered. The thought of having to eat his own cooking made him lose a little of his appetite.

 

He took a pot from the cupboard and moved to fill it up with water. Now how much water is required exactly? A full pot? Half? A quarter? He shrugged and decided to  fill it to three quarters. Better to have more soup than less.

 

Ten minutes later, Yunho stared down in dismay at his dinner. The noodles looked limp and the soup wasn’t the right colour. He had followed the cooking instructions to the T, where had he gone wrong?

 

He looked up in relief at the sound of keys in the lock of the front door. Jihye was back! She would have dinner whipped up in no time. Yunho sat at the dinner table, waiting for her appearance, wondering if he should look extra pathetic to get more sympathy.

 

He was to be disappointed for the second time that evening.

 

“Oh good, you fixed something for yourself. I already had dinner on the way home,” Jihye barely glanced at his lame pot of noodles, before continuing in a rush, “Oppa, I have fantastic news!”

 

Yunho decided that it wasn’t worth interrupting Jihye when she looked like she was about to burst with excitement. He waited, a slight smile on his face as he poked at the noodles, perhaps they wouldn’t taste as bad as they looked.

 

“We got a call today from SM! They want us to pick up contract work for one of their stars!” She was practically dancing in delight, “We will have the contract if pass the trial period of a month.”

 

“SM?”

 

 “Oppa! SM Entertainment! They are like… one of the biggest entertainment agencies in the country?” Jihye stared at him in disbelief, and Yunho was suddenly reminded of the teenage fangirls in Myeongdong. Really, was it so strange not to be clued into pop culture?

 

But this was great news. His sister and two of her high school friends had set up a small housekeeping business, taking on jobs a contract basis. It had been a year since they’ve started, and their clientele had been mostly well-to-do executives too busy to deal with cleaning up.  A contract with a big company meant that they could expand and start hiring people instead of having to be hands-on themselves.

 

“That is wonderful!” Yunho got up to hug his younger sister, “Who’s the star you’ll be working for?”

 

Not like he would ever fully appreciate any of the names she threw at him anyway. But he had to ask, just to show that he was interested.

 

“Shim Changmin.” He could almost see little hearts appearing in her big beautiful eyes, “Oppa, can you believe it?! I get to clean Shim Changmin’s house!”

 

Sex god bad boy pop star Shim what’s-his-face?! No way his innocent baby sister was going into the lion’s den.

 

“No.”

 

Jihye pulled back from the hug, confusion marring her face, “What do you mean ‘no’? Oppa! This is the opportunity of a lifetime!”

 

“No means no. You are not going to that man’s house by yourself.” Yunho was firm, he almost never interfered with his sister’s business. But this was too important for him to step aside. After everything he had seen that evening, sending Jihye alone to Shim Changmin’s house, even if it was just to clean and cook, was like dangling fresh meat in front of a hungry beast, “Send someone else instead.”

 

“There is no one else! It’s the Christmas season and we are busy as it is!” Her small mouth, exactly like his, pulled into a pout, it was one of those tricks that she always pulled to get her older brother to give in, “Oppa…”

 

But Yunho was having none of it. He knew that the business was important to Jihye and her partners, but this was way too risky. An idea bloomed. He had to make some sacrifices, but it was a small thing compared to having to wake up to news that Jihye was beaten up or even molested in some way by that no-good pretty boy.

 

“I’ll go. I’m off for the next two weeks. So I’ll help you on this. You can take over once the holiday season is over.”

 

 _And_ _after I’ve sussed out the man and make sure he’s not some creep who’ll take any chance to hit on you._

 

Instead of being angry, Jihye threw back her head and started laughing hysterically. Yunho stared, wondering if she had gotten so furious to the point of losing her marbles.

 

“You?! You… keeping house?!” She pointed a finger at him, only managing to gasp out some words in between fits of laughter. Giving up trying to string a coherent sentence together, she doubled over, shoulders shaking.

 

“What?!”

 

It took her five minutes to calm down, but even then, she was still tearing and gasping from leftover hysteria, “Have you seen the state of your room? It’s a pigsty! And your cooking… “ Jihye shot the pot of cold noodles on the table a look of scorn, and then overcome with mirth again, “It’s…It’s not fit for human consumption!”

 

“YAH JUNG JIHYE!”

 

His sister backed away, grinning, her eyes alight with triumph, knowing that she had a solid case against him, “My business reputation is at stake here. So don’t try to interfere when you can’t even clean up after yourself.”

 

And with that, she turned and stomped off into her room. And that was that.

 

End of discussion.

 

Yunho stared after her, wondering where little sisters take lessons to fight this dirty.

 

As fate would have it. Jihye fell ill the very next day. It wasn’t even a slight cold. It was a full blown case of stomach flu. The doctors told her that she was to stay at home for the next two weeks in order to recover fully. No strenuous activity.

 

All her jobs had to be parceled out to her business partners. Save one.

 

Which was how Yunho found himself ringing the doorbell of a luxury apartment in Cheongdamdong belonging to Korea’s biggest pop star, Shim Changmin.

 

*

 

The person who opened the door looked about eighteen. Except that it was a sulky looking eighteen year old who was about the same height as him, with stubble. A stubbly teen with a hangover judging by the paleness of his face and the bloodshot eyes.

 

“Who are you? What do you want?” He snapped, impatience radiating from every pore of his body.

 

Yunho blinked, “Ah… erm… I’m looking for Shim Changmin-shii?”

 

All he got was a glare in response.

 

“I’m the new housekeeper?”

 

“You have got to be fucking kidding me. You are a guy for fuck’s sake,” the boy at the door raked him with a look of sheer disgust, “A _gay_ fanboy trying to pass off as a housekeeper. That’s a new one.”

 

The door slammed in his face.

 

It took two seconds for Yunho to register the fact that the “boy” was Jihye’s future employer.

 

A bad attitude with a potty mouth to boot. Nice. And he didn’t like how his sexual orientation was used as an insult, when it was actually more offensive to be called his ‘fanboy’.

 

Yunho gritted his teeth and rang the doorbell again and again. He had to remind himself that this was for Jihye’s business. He couldn’t afford to be proud and turn away her biggest money making opportunity.

 

When the door opened again five minutes later, Changmin was on the phone, his expression even more thunderous.

 

“I ASKED FOR SOMEONE PRETTY. GIRL PRETTY. NOT GUY PRETTY. Can’t someone else come in his place?!” he snapped into the phone, but the full force of his angry stare was aimed at Yunho, who stood by trying to look nonchalant.

 

_Did Shim Changmin just say that he was pretty?_

 

“TWO WEEKS?! Can’t we find another agen… YAH! DON’T YOU DARE HANG UP. HELLO? FUCK!”

 

Yunho desperately tried to keep himself from looking up at the ceiling and whistling, but chose to let the _‘I told you so’_ hang in the air instead.

 

“What are you standing there for? The house isn’t going to clean itself.” Changmin wasn’t about to apologize for the misunderstanding, shuffling away grumpily like the whole thing was Yunho’s fault, “I’ll show you around and you’d better be taking notes.”

 

The apartment was small, but laid out in such a way that it was spacious and comfortable. There were three rooms, a living area and a kitchenette. While the man himself appeared to be a cold arrogant asshole, the palettes and furniture in the house was a surprising combination of warm tones and wood, with books and framed music posters lining the shelves to provide occasional pops of colour.

 

It was the complete opposite of the owner of the place, and Yunho wondered if the whole space had been left to the hands of an interior designer who didn’t know the occupant well.

 

Changmin was already moving through the house, rattling off a list of chores and dos and don’ts that had Yunho scrambling.

 

“Kitchen. Laundry area. Clothes to be washed everyday. I want a gourmet meal prepared for lunch and dinner. Everyday. Try to switch things up a little. I hate eating the same thing twice in a week.”

 

Yunho gulped. All he knew how to cook was ramyeon, eggs and water, the last being the most consistent in terms of success. He could almost hear Jihye laughing at him croakily from her sickbed.

 

“Bedroom. Self explanatory. Walk in closet. Tops, bottoms, according to colour and material. Shoes, according to type, material then colour.”

 

_What the hell? This man needs help._

Changmin looked almost happy giving out his list of instructions, and Yunho wilted more and more as he trailed behind him, certain that he was going to be discovered as a complete hoax in a matter of minutes.

 

“And finally… we have the music room.” Changmin’s eyes were practically sparkling by now, as if walking through the house and going over his routine gave him a sense of peace. It gave Yunho pause. When Shim Changmin wasn’t looking murderous, he was a really attractive man.

 

_Stop that right now Jung Yunho._

 

“Be really careful with the instruments in here,” he walked through the room, trailing a hand across the keyboard and then the row of guitars placed carefully against the walls, “And leave the desk and cupboards alone. I usually clean them myself.”

 

This was obviously his happy room. The walls were covered with framed posters of musicians and bands, some recording equipment was set up in a corner and stacks of papers with scribbles were messily strewn across the desk. It was the only thing that wasn’t in order in the entire house.

 

_Interesting._

 

The tour was complete and Yunho was led out to the living area, where Changmin once again narrowed his eyes at him, “I didn’t see you taking notes just now. I hope you have a really good memory.”

 

“It’s my job,” Yunho tried to look confident, “I have to remember lists every other day.”

 

That seemed to satisfy the other man, who suddenly looked tired and wan all over again. He turned away, muttering about needing to work and disappeared back into the music room.

 

Yunho was now left to his own devices. He had hoped that working for a celebrity meant that he would be left pretty much alone in the house. In his opinion, this house didn’t need much cleaning. There was not a single speck of dust anywhere. But with Changmin in the house, it meant that he had to go through the motions of cleaning, and just when he’d spotted some really cool things around the house. That man had some really good computer games he wished he could play.

 

Damn.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Vacuuming. Check.

 

Dusting. Check.

 

Laundry. Check.

 

It was the most cleaning Yunho had done in a day, and he was beginning to feel pretty proud of himself. Doing the laundry was the simplest thing in the world. He’d taken all the clothes in the bags, threw them into the washing machine, dumped some detergent through the door in front, slammed it shut and poked at the buttons.

 

The machine whirred to life.

 

Done.

 

Easy.

 

Why were there even two separate bags of laundry anyway? Wasn't it simpler to just put all the clothes together?

 

Now lunch. Changmin had requested for a light meal, something about not having an appetite.

 

Yunho opened the kitchen cabinets to take stock of what was available that was simple to make. He had to start taking lessons from Jihye. He might be able to bluff his way through his first day, but it wasn’t going to last if all he could do was throw a packet of noodles in boiling water and hope for the best.

 

Ah… canned soup. Excellent.

 

The kitchen had state of the art technology, supposedly for convenience, but had Yunho stumped. He had never used a microwave before, Jihye was always going on about using good old fashion methods of cooking, and scorned using “modern” equipment. Their kitchen at home had a stove, an oven and a refrigerator, and food still managed to come out of it.

 

He read the label on the can very carefully, cranked open the lid and poured water directly into the can itself.

 

The jellied soup sat solid in the clear water looking completely unsoup-like. Perhaps heating it up would help mix it up better.

 

He stuck the can into the microwave and bent over to squint at the buttons.

 

“What. The. Fuck. Are. You. Doing.”

 

The voice that came from behind was low and dangerous.  It was Changmin looking like death. Literally. He was paler than before and his bloodshot eyes were wide with fury.

 

Did the man have to be angry all the time?

 

“Erm… heating up soup? For your lunch?”

 

“YOU ARE GOING TO KILL US BOTH YOU FUCKING IDIOT!” Yunho was shoved aside. The can of soup was snatched out of the microwave and smacked onto the counter.

 

“No metal. In the microwave.” Changmin panted, turning a strange shade of green, as if he’d exerted great effort, but looking no less pissed off, “Housekeeper my ass. You are just some sasaeng out to get me.”

 

Bad attitude. Violent. Potty-mouthed. Angry. Anal. _And_ paranoid. The man had real issues.

 

Yunho was suddenly sympathetic. He had seen cases like that at the center before, he needed to deal with him with calm reason. Cool logic.  

 

“Changmin-shii, it was a small mistake… “

 

The washing machine chose that moment to give out an odd clunk and shuddered.

 

They both turned to stare, the can of soup promptly ignored.

 

More ominous clunking and shuddering before pink foam started to bubble out from the door before dripping on the floor.

 

Yunho didn’t have to turn to look at the man beside him to know the expression on his face.

 

“There is a _very_ expensive Givenchy shirt in there. AND IT WAS WHITE.”

 

All he could do was stare in horror as more foam burst forth. He now knew why there were two bags.

 

But why the foam though?

 

Yunho knew that being fired was inevitable. Except that Changmin looked like he wanted to inflict bodily harm on top of that. He took a step towards him, jaw clenched, a vein jumping at his temple.

 

His face was really turning a very interesting shade of sick green.

 

“You… ” A trembling hand grasped the countertop, knuckles white, breaths coming out in pants, “You are fucking…FIRED.”

 

Shim Changmin looked like The Hulk at the moment. Green angry face and all.

 

Yunho stared in horrified fascination as the he suddenly lurched forward, doubled over and proceeded to puke all over himself before collapsing onto the puddle of vomit in a dead faint.

 

_Well shit._

*

 

 

Changmin hated failure. He hated that he the feeling of helplessness that came with it. He stood on the stage, dressed in a ridiculous outfit made of spandex, his guitar hanging off him, below him was the audience, a sea of black. Silent. Waiting. Judging.

 

It was a black ocean.

 

His ex-mentor walked onto stage to stand beside him, looking at him with a smirk, “You are nothing but puppet. This is not your music. You are just a shell.”

 

The audience roared their approval.

 

He wanted to scream and rage.

 

Then there was that weird housekeeper who appeared and offered him a cold towel. That was pink.

 

It made him want to smash something.

 

Thick choking darkness and silence overtook him.

 

He was in the office, having a meeting with the management. The group of suited up stuffy looking old men looked at him with pity, “Changmin-shii, your song didn’t make the cut. You just don’t have the talent.”

 

He didn’t want their pity.

 

Fear threatened to swallow him whole.

 

I AM NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE YOU IGNORANT FOOLS.

 

I’ll show you. I WILL SHOW YOU.

 

The housekeeper appeared again, this time with water to fling in his face, all the while watching him with the gentlest of expressions.

 

What the fuck.

 

But the water felt so cool in the heat. Changmin sighed.

 

Darkness claimed him once again.

 

He sat at his desk, staring at his music sheets. There were smileys drawn where the notes should be. It didn’t make sense. He tried lifting his hand to put down the notes that were floating in his head. It was all there, the song; an elusive melody that threatened to flit away, never to come back.

 

His hand just wouldn’t cooperate.

 

The notes danced around in his mind, teasing, taunting. And then started to fade one by one.

 

But his fingers grasped the pencil, unable to move.

 

GODAMMIT.

 

He struggled, channeling all his energy to move his arm muscles, hating how weak he felt.

 

A hand appeared from nowhere to grasp his and gave a squeeze of assurance. _It’s okay_ , the firm grip said. Something cold and soothing touched his face and he turned into it, seeking more, sighing gratefully at the relief it brought.

 

It had been so long since he’d felt a touch that felt personal.

 

Changmin felt himself surrendering to the pull of soothing black again. This time, a smile that seemed to light up the darkness accompanied his journey.

 

And there was peace.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

He was naked. Stark naked. Even his briefs were missing.

 

How the fuck did that happen?!

 

Changmin sat up in bed and immediately regretted it. The world swirled around him, and he sank back into the pillows, swallowing desperately to keep the nausea from rising.

 

At least he was in his own bed, and the room looked normal. Save for a messy bed stand with a basin and a washcloth, and an armchair that was out of place with the cushions looking like they’ve been crushed.

 

And what is a bucket doing by the bed?

 

Actually, he didn’t quite care. He was thirsty and needed water.

 

His second attempt at getting up was slightly more successful. He sat at the edge of the bed, feeling utterly exhausted from the attempt. How on earth did he even get to bed in the first place?

 

Unbidden, a memory of a shuddering washing machine with pink foam spilling onto his clean floor and a man backing away from him guiltily rose in his sluggish mind. He couldn’t remember anything after that. Except for his dreams. They still clung to him like the film of sweat that had was now a fine sheen on his bare skin.

 

“Changmin-shii! I thought I heard a noise and came in to check on you.”

 

Changmin didn’t know where the sudden surge of energy to scramble back into bed under the safety of the covers came from, but he thanked the higher powers that granted him the necessary strength to do so.

 

“I thought I fired you!” He croaked out, pushing the duvet up to his shoulders, annoyed that he was caught in such a vulnerable state.

 

“Yes you did,” the other man beamed at him, as if they were not discussing the termination of his employment, “But then you fainted into your own sick. I couldn’t leave you there could I?”

 

His mouth dropped open.

 

He had never fainted in his life. What was that man talking about? It was just not done. Shim Changmin does not, will never, faint.

 

“All that glowering must be exhausting,” the smile never wavered, “Here, have some water.”

 

Thirst overruled pride. Changmin took the glass offered to him and took a sip gratefully, the sip became gulps and he soon emptied the glass. He lay back with a sigh. He was still feeling exhausted, but at least he was lucid, at least lucid enough to want to get some answers.

 

“Tell me what happened. Who are you? How long was I out for? And most importantly… _where are my clothes_?!”

 

“I’ve seen you naked and we’ve never been properly introduced!” the man laughed, oblivious to the horror that was dawning on Changmin’s face, “I’m Jung Yunho. the temporary housekeeper that you fired, and now your nurse.”

 

Yunho stuck out a hand and laughed again when Changmin drew back, staring at it like he was holding a snake. He withdrew the offer of a handshake and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

 

“You were out since yesterday, running a high temperature the whole of last night,” Still looking somewhat amused, he continued, “I threw your clothes into the wash.  And though I’m really good at getting guys out of their clothes, I’m not very good at getting them back on.”

 

He could be mistaken, but was Jung Yunho _flirting_ with him?

 

“Did you _touch_ me?” he managed to splutter out. His mind was working overtime, imagining all the things that could have happened when he’d lain unconscious and naked on the bed. Had the man taken pictures of him and plan to use it for blackmail?

 

Yunho sighed, “I gave you a sponge bath ok? That’s all I did. I spent the night in the chair over there and left you completely unmolested. So relax and just go back to sleep.”

 

Which explained the dented cushions and his constant appearance in his dreams. Yunho had had to deal with his mess and then spent the entire night taking care of him, and all he had done was assume the worse immediately.

 

Guilt and shame crept up on him and he was overwhelmed with self-disgust. It was an unfamiliar feeling, one that made him feel uncomfortable.

 

Changmin tugged the covers up further, so that he could be half hidden from view while he did what he knew had to be done.

 

“Thank you.”

 

It was also an apology for everything he had said and done up to that point, and it looked like Yunho knew it too. A hand rested on his head and ruffled his hair slightly, like he was some kid.

 

On any other day, Changmin would have resisted, but for that moment, he laid still, oddly touched by the gesture. It was nice to be treated like a normal person, and not some idol to be adored, worshipped and feared.

 

Yunho didn’t move for a moment, fingers buried in his hair, and then with a sigh, turned to leave.

 

“By the way, you get to keep the job.” Changmin called out, head burrowing deeper to stay out of sight. His heart had started to beat a little too quickly in that short but intimate moment, and he couldn’t, didn’t really want to look at Yunho.

 

There was a pause. He supposed that the other man was speechless with gratitude at being able to get his job back. Changmin lowered the covers to sneak a peek, only to see Yunho smirking down at him.

 

“Any time you feel like getting up to wash your hair, I’ll help. It stinks of puke.”

 

Despite himself, Changmin found himself smiling as he turned away to settle back into sleep.

 

*

 

 

It had been a week since Changmin’s dramatic faint, and the two of them had fallen into a truce of sorts.

 

They might even call themselves friends.

 

Yunho had stayed for one more night to make sure he didn’t have a relapse, sleeping on the couch in the living room. Changmin had shaken him awake the next morning and even made coffee before disappearing back to bed.

 

It was the start of a little routine, even when he’d recovered and Yunho began his duties at the apartment at regular hours. Coffee would be ready by the time he entered the house, and he’d buy simple wholesome fare like Kimbap or chicken soup after discovering that Changmin never really had the chance to taste simple street food since the start of his career. It had always been catered food, high-end gourmet meals or scary faddish diets when he had to watch his weight.

 

Yunho no longer bothered to go through the pretense of knowing how to cook or do professional cleaning after fessing up that he was there simply there as a replacement for Jihye. Yunho had expected Changmin to flip at the revelation that he was nothing but a normal guy masquerading as a housekeeper for two weeks, but the pop star’s reaction was strangely muted (by Changmin standards).

 

All he got was a “You dust and mop okay. Just run the necessary errands. AND STAY AWAY FROM THE LAUNDRY.”

 

It seemed like Shim Changmin was pretty decent after all. He actually liked him, completely platonic of course.

 

Yunho had thought that Changmin was just an arrogant shallow pop star, no, make that a _very attractive_ arrogant shallow pop star. But as days passed, Yunho started to change his mind.

 

For some strange reason, Changmin never went out. Instead, he would shut himself in the room to work on his music, coming out only to have meals or to take naps. And they would talk over breakfast. It was a little awkward at first, but Yunho soon discovered that underneath the cold hard exterior, was a man who was funny, witty and shared his love for comics and games.  

 

Maybe funny was a little bit of a stretch, but Changmin’s sarcasm always managed to make him laugh. Even when it was directed at him.

 

It wasn’t like Changmin had suddenly turned angelic. The sniping was still there, but that was all there was to it. Yunho realized that it was all bark and no bite. He grumped at everything. The food, the state of his home, his now-pink Givenchy shirt, even the weather, particularly when it began to snow.

 

And Yunho loved snow. Because it meant that they would have a white Christmas, which was always the best.

 

There was a very glaring absence of Christmas cheer in the house, the days went on like the biggest holiday of the year wasn’t creeping up on them.

 

He couldn’t contain his curiosity for long and decided to bring it up over one of their shared meals.

 

“What about it?” Changmin poked at his Jajangmyeon, clearly disinterested. It was like Yunho was asking about his plans to take a dump.

 

“Well? Aren’t you doing anything? Presents… a tree… a party with friends…” Yunho trailed off, wanting to slap himself bringing up friends. The man looked like he didn’t have any, judging by the lack of calls for the past week. It was frightening to think that Changmin could have passed out and nobody would have known if he wasn’t there.

 

His mouth curled into a bitter smile, “I’ll be working.”

 

“What?! On Christmas day?! But nobody works during Christmas!”

 

The gaze that was leveled at him made him squirm. Yunho immediately regretted bringing it up. He had momentarily forgotten that he was talking to one of the biggest stars in the music industry.

 

Of course he had to work! While families gathered to watch television after the holiday meal, Shim Changmin would be on screen, singing and dazzling them all. 

 

“Sorry.”

 

He waved off the apology, “No need to be sorry, I have a new album to promote, and it means more money for me.” and as if unused to being nice, he threw down his chopsticks, ”The thing you need to be sorry for is ordering this lousy bowl of noodles.”

 

Even that last insult sounded lame.

 

Changmin pushed the bowl away and stood up, obviously done with both the meal and the conversation. The door to the room slammed shut, and Yunho could hear soft strains of a guitar.

 

He wouldn’t profess to completely understand that man, but one thing Yunho was certain of - Shim Changmin was lonely.

 

Yunho sat, his lunch forgotten, staring at the closed door, the sadness of the melody and the memory of watching Changmin caught up in the throes of nightmares while burning up with fever caused something to stir in his heart. Was it pity that he was feeling?

 

By the time he let himself out of the house that evening, there was still no sign of the moody pop star, except for some angry notes being banged out from the room.

 

The empty living room looked stark and sad as he shut the door behind him, reminding him of its occupant, leaving a funny ache in his heart.

 

Yunho set off for home, resolving to bring Christmas to this house, whether the owner liked it or not.

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

His living room looked different.

 

Wait. There is a tree. In his living room.

 

A Christmas tree.

 

Bare of decorations, but still a fucking Christmas tree.

 

And it was blocking his favourite poster of X Japan.

 

He wanted to be pissed off. He should be pissed off. But he wasn’t.

 

Strange.

 

A smile worked its way slowly from his insides up to his mouth.

 

“Do you like it?” Yunho bounced into view. It was too early for him to be here, but he had obviously woken up earlier than usual to sneak the tree in. He peered at his face and drew back looking delighted, “You _do_ like it!”

 

Changmin had to resist the urge to hug the man, that stupid dazzling grin of his was making him soft in the head. He did wonder what Yunho would do if he did though; hug him back? Or just pat him on the head and tell him that he wasn’t his type?

 

But now wasn’t the time to find out.

 

“But there isn’t anything on it.” He pointed out, walking around it cautiously, it was a huge tree. Eight feet high from the looks of it. Changmin was aware that he had been smiling like an idiot for at least the past five minutes, and he was unable to take his eyes off the big green thing that was disrupting the entire balance of the interior décor of the house, something that he’d spent months working on himself.

 

It looked ridiculous in his living room, but yet, it was perfect.

 

Yunho rocked back and forth, unable to contain his glee over the success of his plan., “We are going shopping for Christmas decorations, and then we’ll come home to decorate it.”

 

_We._

 

Changmin liked the sound of it. And he liked how Yunho had referred to this house as home even more.

 

He could picture it, the two of them in a mall, shopping for fairy lights, ghastly looking baubles that Yunho would no doubt love, and tacky looking snowman hanging things (Changmin had no idea what those things were called). And they would bicker over what to buy, and Yunho would say that he was being too anal about the theme and colours. Then perhaps they’ll sit down for a cup of coffee before heading home together.

 

It sounded like a date, and his entire being wanted to scream YES.

 

His smile dimmed.

 

But how can he forget what the reality was?  He was being punished. And even without being grounded, he was trapped here in his house for fear of being mobbed by the fans who were no doubt squatting in the cold at this moment, waiting for him to make an appearance.

 

Changmin wished just for one magical day when reality wouldn’t intrude on his life, and he could do whatever he wanted. 

 

 “I can’t.”

 

“Why not?” for someone who was only helping out with the shopping, Yunho looked incredibly disappointed, his mouth pulling into a small pout. He stopped rocking, “It would be nice to get out and enjoy the Christmas atmosphere.”

 

“Look, if you must know, I’m grounded for these two weeks for punching out someone in a bar,” Changmin hated how he was probably losing even more credibility with Yunho, “I need to lay low before promotions start. I can’t afford to get myself any more bad press.”

 

But instead of looking disgusted and leaving the topic alone, Yunho looked genuinely curious.

 

“Were you drunk?”

 

“No.”

 

“On drugs?”

 

“NO.”

 

“Then he probably deserved it.” Yunho shrugged.

 

“He said that I was nothing but a puppet and that my music sucked.” Changmin laughed bitterly, realizing how stupid it all sounded, “The problem is, he was right. And you know what the sad part is? It’s not even _my_ music. I just sing what’s given to me.”

 

There, it was out. It was the first time he could explain the situation to anyone, because nobody had asked. The media, the management, his PA, manager and even his colleagues had all jump into the wrong conclusion, and he hadn’t been bothered enough to try to correct them. Changmin was happy to play the bad guy, it was easier, because it was expected. And it helped to sell albums. But Yunho’s faith in him filled him with warmth. It was nice not to be judged based on face value.

 

Yunho gave him a long measured look, “I think we’re done with the pity party. We’re going out, whether you like it or not.”

 

_Pity party?_

 

He had expected some sort of censure or maybe even sympathy from Yunho. But he had just dismissed the whole thing like Changmin had just described what he had for dinner the night before.

 

“Look here… how dare you…”

 

“Oh shut up,” Yunho said easily, his eyes crinkling. Those crinkle lines were something that could make a man stop breathing. “I knew that would get a rise out of you. I like a snippy Shim Changmin better than a mopey one. Not exactly Christmassy, but it’ll have to do for our shopping date.”

 

Changmin was too stunned to snap back at being told to shut it. Did Yunho say ‘date’?

 

The toe curling happiness that bloomed within him warned him that he was in deep trouble.

 

Did he mean an actual date or just hanging out kind of date?

 

But then Yunho didn’t even seem to realize he’d just dropped the biggest bomb. Instead, he moved in and started messing with his hair, hands parting his bangs this way and that, making “hmmm…” noises like he was some professional coordi.

 

His staff would die from shock if they saw this. His fits over having his hair messed up were stuff of legends.

 

But he stood there placidly, breathing in Yunho’s clean scent, using up every bit of self-control to not grab him by the face and plant a kiss on the small pout of lips that was so enticingly close.

 

“Do you have glasses?”

 

*

 

Changmin was a super star through and through. Even with straight parted hair gelled flat to his head and thick nerd glasses, there was still something dazzling about him.

 

While the thick glasses dimmed the beauty of his eyes, the amazing bone structure of his face just could not be hidden, anyone who cared to look would still be able see the high cheekbones and defined jaw lined. 

 

Or perhaps it was the way he carried himself, the long confident strides and the innate knowledge that he was special lent that glow to him.

 

Maybe the dazzle came from his own excitement of being able to spend the day with Changmin. 

 

But the super star wasn’t as confident today, he had balked at the sight of his transformation, turned his nose up at exchanging clothes with him, giving in only when Yunho had explained that normal people don’t look like they’ve just stepped off the runway just to go shopping. 

 

Changmin was now walking with his head slightly bent, shifting uncomfortably in the too-big shoulders of his borrowed jacket.

 

Yunho wanted to laugh at Changmin’s self-consciousness, but he was enjoying the outing too much to add to the man’s embarrassment. The last thing he needed was for Changmin to change his mind and demand to go home.

 

They had escaped the apartment in the van Yunho had driven to transport the tree over and made their way to a mall in the outskirts of the city, close to Yunho’s home.

 

Nobody had given them a second look as they picked through the baskets of tacky Christmas decorations. They were probably not of the same quality as those sold in the bigger department stores in the central districts, but the offerings were definitely more interesting.

 

Changmin had a different opinion.

 

He had wrinkled his nose at the cheap tinsel and scoffed at the neon purple fairy lights that Yunho had picked out, saying that he didn’t want to be blinded every time he stepped into the living room. 

 

It was fun picking up one gawdy item after another and showing it to Changmin, just to watch his expression deepen in disgust and the eye rolling each time Yunho managed to find another jolly fat Santa Claus to add to the collection.

 

The highlight was when Changmin had tried to wrestle away from him what he thought was the cutest angel to sit atop the tree, first by grabbing hold of the hand that held up the portly looking figurine that had enormous boobs for a heavenly being, then tackling him from behind when Yunho proved to be stronger.

 

Changmin won, he triumphantly tossed aside the angel and picked out a boring star instead.

 

Yunho hid a smile, not the least bit ashamed that he had deliberately teased him just to get a reaction. It was such a cheap move on his part, but it got him Changmin’s hard body against his for all of five seconds.

 

He really didn’t know where this was going, he knew that he was playing with fire. Changmin was way out of his league, and he was going to get burnt if he continued investing any emotions into this… He couldn’t even call it a relationship.

 

But Yunho couldn’t help himself, he found himself watching and reacting to every shift of emotion, whether it was sadness, anger or the recent tranquility that he had glimpsed.

 

And here he was, trying to his hardest to make Changmin happy.

 

“We’re going somewhere else,” Yunho started up the van after they were done loading the purchases, “And I think you’re going to like it.”

 

“What, now?” Changmin sounding surprised, “It’s already past your work hours, shouldn’t we be heading back?”

 

The awkward silence that fell was new. They never had trouble talking, and Yunho always had a comeback if not an indulgent smile for all of Changmin’s direct hits.

 

There was no smart comeback for the question that hung in the air this time. He could either lie, or just tell him the truth.

 

Yunho chose his words very carefully, keeping his eyes focused on the roads, “Actually, today is my day off.”

 

He felt his companion go still in his seat.

 

He had planned and asked Changmin out on his day off on a pretext of an errand, crossing the boundaries of the employer-employee relationship. They were now in the midst of a date, and his date had no clue.

 

Yunho wanted to disappear into a hole and just let the van drive itself.

 

“And you chose to spend it lugging a tree to my house and then fighting over decorations.”

 

It wasn’t a question.

 

He hoped they didn’t have to stop at the traffic lights because it meant he had nothing to focus on. Which meant that he would have to look at Changmin.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well ,” Changmin responded after a long silence, but his tone was also carefully neutral, “Let’s enjoy the rest of your day off together then.”

 

It was probably the most roundabout and belated acceptance of a date ever.

 

But what the hell.

 

Yunho was glad that the interior of the van was dark enough to hide the small smile that he couldn’t suppress.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

Changmin watched sourly as Yunho skated by on one leg and jumped to execute a spin in mid-air. His form was perfect, and the gracefulness of his movements was absolutely breathtaking to watch. He looked like he was born in ice skates.

 

Yunho landed perfectly and whooped in delight, flashing him a thumbs up sign as he whizzed by.

 

_Show off._

He looked down at his own feet, they felt like they weighed a ton in those skates, and he had absolutely no idea how to move without falling flat on his face.

 

‘What is Christmas without some ice skating?’ Yunho had said as they pulled into the parking lot of an old ice rink. Changmin wanted to point out that he had survived twenty-five Christmases without making a fool of himself on skates, but he didn’t want to burst Yunho’s bubble.

 

They were on a date after all.

 

And Yunho had called in a favour from a friend and had managed to get the place opened just for the two of them, it was really the most romantic thing anyone had done for him.

 

“Come on, give it a shot. Try gliding towards me.” Yunho skidded to a stop in front of him and held out his hands.

 

Changmin slid a leg forward, and then the next.

 

“Glide in the shape of a V.”

 

_And how the fuck does one glide in a V?!_

 

He slid another skate out, trying to move it diagonally, and then the other. And suddenly, his legs were both sliding apart, unable to stop. It seemed physically impossible to bring them back together no matter how much he tried.

 

“YOU SAID V!” he yelled, arms flailing, trying to stay upright while trying to control to his feet. He must look like an idiot, “I DID A V! THIS IS DUMB.”

 

Yunho doubled over, overcome with mirth.

 

“STOP FUCKING LAUGHING AND HELP!”

 

“You… you look like that Disney cartoon character,” Yunho gasped, shoulders still shaking with laughter as he skated forward to help, “That baby deer flailing about on ice… what’s its name…”

 

“Jung Yunho…” Changmin warned, knowing exactly what cartoon character he was referring to, and he _hated_ that childhood nickname. Hated it with a passion.

 

His legs slid out from beneath him again, and he yelped, throwing his long arms out for balance.

 

“BAMBI!”

 

Changmin lost the battle for balance and pitched himself forward only to crash into Yunho who had been too busy laughing to catch him. They fell in a tangle of arms, legs and skates, landing on the ice with a loud whump.

 

Yunho had absorbed most of the impact of the fall, with Changmin lying embarrassed on top of him.

 

The press would have a field day if anyone saw them like this.

 

They didn’t move, Yunho looked stunned for a moment, probably from the impact of the fall. He blinked, long lashes fluttering before his face stretched into a wide dazzling grin, a shallow dent of a dimple joining in to add to the impact.

 

Changmin’s mind went blank, and before he knew what he was doing, he leaned forward and kissed him.

 

It felt like the most natural thing in the world to have Yunho’s arms close around him as their lips met, tentatively brushing at first and then parting to deepen the kiss further. Changmin sank into it, luxuriating at the feel of Yunho’s mouth sliding against his, and the tongue that ran over the seam of his lips before invading his mouth to explore every inch of its recesses.

 

It took awhile for Changmin to realize that they were still lying on an icy surface.

 

“You do realize that this is like the most clichéd moment ever.” Changmin said breathlessly, pulling away for air. He made to move away, knowing that Yunho couldn’t be comfortable lying on the cold wet surface with a taller man lying practically on top of him.

 

But he was yanked back down and imprisoned with strong legs wrapping themselves around his. Even with their thick clothing, Changmin couldn’t miss the very interesting bulge that was rubbing against his hip.

 

He didn’t know he still had it in him to blush.

 

“Just shut up for once will you,” Yunho ran a hand over his stupid slicked down hair, looking at him like he was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen, and gently removed the glasses, “I want to see you properly when you kiss me again.”

 

That was nothing short of an order, and Changmin couldn’t help but obey.

 

 

*

 

Bringing someone to the house that you shared with your sister is almost just as embarrassing as when one stays with their parents.

 

Which was why Yunho was immensely relieved to see that the lights were all switched off when he opened the door. It meant that Jihye was either asleep or had gone out for a quick errand.

 

Whatever it was, it meant that he could sneak Changmin into his bedroom (and out later) without his sister ever knowing about it.

 

It would have made sense to go back to the apartment in the city centre, but the distance was too far and the two of them had been soaked through, he didn’t want Changmin to fall ill all over again.  At least that was Yunho’s excuse, the truth was that he was too impatient to take the half hour drive back.

 

The both of them treaded their way silently and carefully through the dark flat, watchful for signs of the other occupant, before collapsing in a fit giggles the moment they were in the safety of Yunho’s bedroom, the door shut behind them.

 

“Shhhh… if she finds you here, I’ll never hear the end of it,” Yunho whispered after sobering up. With his back against the door, he looked deceptively lazy as he reached out to hook a finger in the other man’s jeans belt loop and pulled, “I was supposed to protect her from a sexual predator, not become the victim myself.”

 

Changmin’s brow arched, but he played along, allowing himself to be pulled forward, “Look who’s the predator now, and you got me naked first.”

 

“And enjoyed every minute of it, even though you stank.” Yunho acknowledged, flashing him a wicked grin, before slipping his hands underneath Changmin’s sweater, enjoying the hitch in his breath as his fingers slowly traced the slight ridges of muscle along his chest and stomach, “And just so you know, I don’t usually do this on first dates.”

 

“Do what? This?” Yunho shuddered at the hot breath on his neck, and moaned softly as he felt teeth bite down softly, before lips settled to suck gently on the skin, “Or this?”

 

A skillful hand undid the fly of his jeans and plunged in to wrap itself around his cock, making him hiss with pleasure.

 

Somehow, the seducer was now being seduced.

 

Yunho gave up with the teasing and pulled at Changmin’s sweater in silent demand for it to come off, only to interrupt the whole process of stripping by yanking him back down for one mind drugging kiss after another.

 

Changmin chucked aside the last of his clothes, and pressed in against him, pinning him against the wall. They gasped at the pleasure of the contact of bare skin on bare skin, their kisses growing more urgent, hands moving hungrily, eager to explore and to give pleasure.

 

Yunho mouthed the skin on Changmin’s shoulder, trying not to make a sound, hips jerking as his cock was caught once again and stroked, long fingers working the length, while the other hand stroked his balls. A low voice at his ear rasped out in lurid detail all things he had secretly thought of doing only in the dark of the night, drowning him in waves of helpless lust, he was going wild with the onslaught of images and sensations. He didn’t even care that his own hands were digging into Changmin’s back, leaving behind scratches with each firm stroke and jerk of his hips.

 

All he could do was feel, and follow the voice that both seduced and commanded.

 

Fingers threaded through his hair, tugging gently, guiding him down the length of his body, and Yunho understood what was asked for him. He knelt, taking Changmin’s length into his mouth, circling the head with his lips first, suckling gently, before burying the entire length in his mouth. The pain of having his hair wrenched and the harsh breaths penetrated Yunho’s drugged senses enough to give him a thrill of satisfaction.

 

He didn’t move, even though the fingers in his hair tugged impatiently, instead, he tightened his lips around the length and flattened his tongue against the underside of Changmin’s cock and stroked, instinctively knowing that the roughness of his tongue dragging across the sensitive skin combined with the moist warmth of his mouth would drive the other man crazy. 

 

“ _Shit._ ”

 

There was the tiniest of jerks in the hips, and Yunho let go, pumping the length furiously with his lips, pushing Changmin over the edge. He exploded into Yunho’s mouth with a hoarse groan, hand still holding his head in place, hips bucking furiously as he fucked into the mouth that held him prisoner.  

 

Yunho’s throat worked, swallowing eagerly, while his hands grabbed Changmin’s ass cheeks and pulled him in further, making sure that each slam of his hips would take his cock further into his mouth as he came.

 

Changmin came down from the high with a shudder and would have collapsed boneless onto the floor if Yunho had not straightened up to catch him, pressing kisses into his neck, back-walking him onto the single bed in the room, nudging him on his hands and knees.

 

Yunho stopped to admire the long sculpted body on display before him, running his fingers along the taut ass, marveling at the smooth skin, pausing to toy slightly with the tight ring of muscles between the cheeks, adding his mouth and tongue to the torture, knowing that Changmin was still sensitive to touch, before guiding the head of his cock to the puckered entrance, making sure that he went slow.

 

But Changmin had other plans in mind, and slow wasn’t part of it. He canted his hips further, taking in every inch of him deeply, muscles clenching to grip him tight, and started his own fast rhythm, each rut of his hips urging Yunho to respond with the same pace.

 

And he was lost from the first thrust, only aware of the rhythmic slam of his hips against Changmin’s ass, the heady smell of musk in the air, and the mewls of pleasure he wasn’t sure came from him or the other man. He rutted in, over and over, fingers biting into Changmin’s hips, riding the endless waves of liquid sensation, stopping only when he collapsed, spent on top of the other man.

 

“You need a bigger bed.” Changmin pointed out after a few moments of silence, his voice muffled by the mattress.

 

“If you paid me more,” Yunho grumped, rolling off and pulling him into his arms, “I might be able to afford it.”

 

All he got was a snort and Changmin muttering something about inflation and how expensive good help was before turning to curl into him before drifting off to sleep.

 

He shouldn’t get too used to this.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

They still managed to get caught.  

 

Changmin had sauntered out of the room for a glass of water stark naked in the wee hours of the morning, forgetting where he was, and ran smack into Jihye, who _was_ home, but had been too drugged up with flu medication to hear them the night before.

 

Yunho had woken up to a loud shriek and ran out in a similar state of undress, only to find his sister waving a broom at the very naked pop idol, who looked like he wasn’t sure if he should have his hands in the air or down to cover up his private bits.

 

He had expected a lecture for not giving her a heads up that a celebrity would be wandering around their house unclothed. But he didn’t expect Jihye to get into a jealous rage over how Shim Changmin had picked a normal _dude_ instead of her or any one of his thousands of fangirls.

 

“HOW COULD YOU SEDUCE HIM?!” were Jihye’s exact words the moment he got dressed and could face her again that morning.

 

It wasn’t like Yunho had gone and taken Changmin’s innocence against his will. The seduction had been pretty mutual for most of the night as far as he could recall.

 

“HE BELONGS TO US! GIVE HIM BACK!” she had wailed, stomping her feet after he had tried to offer her an explanation (although it sounded lame in retrospect).

 

And suddenly it was all Yunho’s fault over her falling ill, taking up the job to help out and then shamelessly taking advantage of the similarly ill pop star and then luring him into bed. The last bit was said with a flying shoe that he barely dodged before running out of the house with only his bag, a toothbrush and the clothes on his back.

 

Who knew Jihye would join the ranks of Shim Changmin’s psychotic fangirls?

 

But then who knew he would be one to sleep with a celebrity?

 

Changmin was particularly smug when he heard about the fit that Jihye had thrown. His only way of showing sympathy was letting him stay over at his apartment till the storm had blown over.

 

Nobody wanted to put an exact length of time Yunho would be staying. Changmin had said as long as he wanted, but Yunho knew that it was only till things go back to normal. In other words, when real life intruded again in the form of Changmin’s job as a pop star.

 

Jihye’s reaction had been funny at first, but it was a stark reminder of how special Changmin was, and that he was way out of his league.

 

Yunho stood in the middle of Changmin’s apartment, staring at the tree that he had just put up the day before, the impact of what they had done the night before dawning on him.

 

He had thought that it would add a nice touch to the living room, but now he saw that it was horribly out of place. Too tall, too big, too _green_ amidst the tasteful furniture and neutral shades that reflected the owner’s world.

 

That tree was like him. Needed for the holidays, and then to be put aside once the season was over, because it would stick out like a sore thumb for the rest of the year. 

 

Three more days till Christmas, and that was all the time he had allotted himself, he had wanted to bring him the joy of the holidays, and he would see it to the end. And then he would have to leave before things got awkward for Changmin.

 

One thousand four hundred and forty hours of holding on to the star he had caught before he let it go.

 

The first day was pure bliss. They had decorated the tree, bickering over the amount of “crap” (as Changmin called them) that should go on it. Yunho was firm about flinging everything they have bought, whereas Changmin was happy to just stick with the neon fairy lights.

 

Yunho got his way, but only when he had promised to let Changmin have his way with him.

 

The moment the star went up and the lights were switched on, Changmin had ignored his protests (‘Can we at least pause to admire it please?’) and dragged him to the couch, hands already roving within his sweatpants, delighting in the fact that Yunho didn’t have anything else on underneath.

 

The rest of the day had been spent lazing around the house, and Changmin showing Yunho his personal work, music that he had worked on that were quite different from the genre he performed.  It was something that he had been intensely private about, fearing that he would be laughed at if word got out that he was writing romantic songs rather than the sexed up angry music that he was famous for.

 

Yunho watched as Changmin bent his head over his guitar, eyes closed, lost in his own music, his expression peaceful; the melody was a haunting one and his voice seduced, begged and enthralled. It was a hundred and eighty degree change from the angry angst ridden performer that was his public image.

 

He didn’t know whether it was the song or the knowledge that Changmin was so utterly out of reach for him with this enormous talent that he had that left a lump in his throat.

 

“You need to do this,” Yunho said quietly when the song ended, “This needs to be heard.”

 

“It’s being reviewed by the higher ups,” Changmin snorted, bitterness creeping back into his voice, “Meanwhile, it’s business as usual. More tight pants, thrusting hips and playing the sex god.” His wide mouth quirked up a little at the last bit, and he raised his eyebrows suggestively, trying to play down the seriousness of the topic.

 

But Yunho refused to be side tracked, “Isn’t there anything you can do to convince them? Like, sneak it into a performance or something?”

 

All he got was a roar of laughter, “I would if I could, but everything that has got to do with a paying performance needs clearance, and god knows that I am not scheduled to do any charity.”

 

Changmin sobered up at the sight of Yunho’s frown, “It’s fine. Really. It’s part of the job, you win some, you lose some. I just need to keep on trying.” He reached out to pull him for a kiss, signaling the end of the discussion, it was a topic he obviously wasn’t comfortable going into, and Yunho didn’t push it, afraid to further spoil the moment.

 

But he remained troubled, remembering the nightmares that haunted Changmin during his illness. He had stood by, helplessly watching a practical stranger caught up in fears that were bone deep, and all he could do then was hold his hand and wipe the sweat off his face, with an ache in his heart.

 

They were now lovers but he still felt just as helpless and the ache had deepened. Yunho carded a hand through Changmin’s hair and sank into the kiss, but not before noting that the hour hand on the clock was already showing that it was already the end of the day.

 

Two more days to go.

 

He closed his eyes and willed time to stop.

 

*

 

Changmin had imagined having a romantic Christmas Eve. A day where he would spend the morning at practice, and then go home to play video games with Yunho… no scrap that, play _with_ Yunho, have a nice candlelit dinner, and then it would be back to spending every other moment hopefully naked with his dinner companion.

 

He just couldn’t get enough of that man. Changmin could spend hours just watching him, taking note of the emotions that chased across that face that was like an open book to him, breathe in the smile that was burst of sunshine, and laugh at the stupid scrapes that only Yunho could get into. He hadn’t laughed so much since his boyfriend had unceremoniously rang the doorbell and literally walked into his life.

 

And right now, he was wondering why he was serving food to a bunch of homeless people rather than being in bed with said boyfriend.

 

_Boyfriend._

 

Changmin focused on the soup he was ladling out into bowls to keep a smile that he was sure would split his face if he’d let it. He needed to get used to it. He couldn’t afford to grin like a lovestruck fool every time that word popped into his head.

 

“Changmin-shii, I am so grateful for your time today. Yunho does this every year, and I’m so happy that he brought a friend to help out too.” An older man whom Yunho had introduced as the program coordinator, had come round to check up on him, “Young people these days… they are all too caught up with their lives to bother.”

 

And he was one of them. And would have continued to be if Yunho had not practically dragged him kicking and screaming into this. (‘Just for a few hours’ he had begged, ‘No one will recognize you. They are too hungry to care.’)

 

A few of the volunteers _had_ recognized him, they hadn’t made a big fuss but still utterly failing at not acting star struck. But once things got busy, and the queue for food got longer when dinner time came around, he became one of them, working as part of a line, a team. Changmin was surprised that he was enjoying himself, it felt nice to be doing something else other than just work. Goodness knows that he had done nothing but work during his decade long career. 

 

His only selfish wish right now was that he could get to work with Yunho, who was out front ushering the homeless to tables and making sure they had chairs and that tables were cleared.

 

“Ah… Changmin-shii“ the coordinator coughed discreetly, snapping his attention back to the conversation, his eyes had been wandering to where Yunho was again - he was helping an old lady carry her tray to her seat, all smiles and easy charm.

 

“Yes?”

 

“I heard from Yunho that you have a song that you could share with the people here today? He mentioned that you were a wonderful singer.”

 

Changmin wanted to laugh, it would be extremely inappropriate to sing any of the songs he usually performed to screaming fangirls, not here, at a church, and certainly not to a bunch of people who had bigger problems in life and probably didn’t want to hear about sex, getting drunk or getting high.

 

He was trying to think of a polite way of rejecting the request, when Yunho walked over, holding a guitar. _His_ guitar. _When… ?_

 

Uneasiness pricked at him. Why would Yunho bring his guitar out? Had he planned this?

 

Changmin froze, realization dawning.

 

“We were hoping that you could perform for us here, as Christmas present for our friends.”

 

Yunho wanted him to perform _his_ song in front of this audience. Right now, without giving him any time to prepare. A mix of fear and fury threatened to break his calm exterior, and it was only the other man giving him the most pleading of looks that prevented him to smashing that guitar.

 

But it also told him that Yunho knew what he was doing. He had been so adamant about helping him get the song heard, that he had shoved him towards the first audience he could think of.

 

_That idiot._

 

How could he not understand that he was not ready? What if he was booed? Or what if there was no reaction?  Booed off stage by the homeless at a church. He would be the laughing stock of the entire industry.

 

And now, here he was holding the fucking guitar, everyone looking at him expectantly, trapped with no way out. Sing the fucking song, the appropriate song, or look like an asshole. And he couldn’t afford to look like an asshole right now.

 

This was Yunho’s world, and these were his friends. Changmin ran his hands over the instrument, letting go of his anger slowly. There was no room for a diva tantrum here. Yunho deserved that little bit of respect.

 

Changmin gripped his guitar and strode past Yunho, eyes flashing with the promise that he was not going to get away with this.

 

“Sing it like it’s your Christmas present to me.”

 

It was said softly but Changmin had heard it, he paused to turn back to nod stiffly, fully aware that Yunho had good intentions but was still annoyed at being blackmailed.

 

Yunho beamed and gave him a quick thumbs up for good luck.

 

There was expectant silence as he adjusted the microphone and sat down to tune his guitar, a silence that he was unused to, there were usually screams and cheers before the start of a show, and he would start a song to the chant of his own name.

 

This small silent stage however, was like his debut performance again. This was a different Shim Changmin performing, and it was more significant because Yunho was watching.

 

He took a deep breath, and let the melody flow.

 

Every single note and word just for the one person watching him at the edge of the crowd, pouring all his love into the music that he was making with his guitar, shutting his eyes against the fear that was threatening to pull a plug on his voice.

 

He sang like no one else was watching, just Yunho, with that smile on his face, looking at him like he was the best thing that ever happened to him, when it was the opposite that was true.

 

He had burst into his life and turned it upside down, and he didn’t think it could go back to normal. He felt lighter, happier, and Changmin vowed that he would do whatever it takes to keep Yunho in his life, no matter how much problems they would face.

 

For the first time in his life, there was something worth fighting for.

 

The last note shimmered in the air, and he was done. The song was out there, and Changmin was ready to face judgement. But it suddenly didn’t really matter, he would simply try again even if it didn’t get good reviews, just like what he had told Yunho the day before, except that he hadn’t really believed in it himself at that point.

 

And then he knew, that Yunho had given him the best gift this Christmas, giving him this chance to let his music be heard.  Though the audience was a small mix of people who probably didn’t give two hoots even if all he did was stand up and did the army clap.

 

The applause and wolf whistles startled him, he’d expected polite applause at best, and he would make his bows and leave. The only thing he wanted to do was to grab Yunho and go home; to apologize for his reaction and then do his best to make up for it, and maybe he would be forgiven.

 

And even if he wasn’t, he would try, again and again, maybe for the rest of his life.

 


	8. Chapter 8

“I wish you can see yourself,” he breathed, staring up at Yunho riding him, head flung back, eyes closed, body shuddering in ecstasy.

 

It was already close to midnight, and they had finally arrived home, exhausted from the day, but Changmin had more important matters to take care of. Like showing Yunho just how sorry he was.

 

He had joined Yunho in the shower, taken over the job of soaping him up, pressing kisses wherever his hands went, and had basically driven the other man into a frenzy of mindless want. By the time they had dried off and stumbled into the bedroom, Yunho was practically begging for him to end the torture.

 

He ran a hand up the sweat slicked stomach to his chest, feeling the heart that he knew was beating wildly and tweaked the distended nipples, knowing that it would push him over the edge.

 

He felt the tiny muscles clench around him and released, and clenched again while Yunho sobbed and drove himself downwards at a frantic pace, fisting his own erection in a desperate attempt for release.

 

His own control close to snapping, he tightened his grip on Yunho’s hips, pushing him down hard into each thrust, and before he lost himself, all he could think of was how beautiful Yunho was as he lost possession over his body, lashes fanning over his cheeks, jaw slack, glistening with sweat as he rocked forward into him, completely in the grips of his orgasm.

 

They lay boneless and satiated, luxuriating in the feel of their limbs being completely entwined.

 

“Merry Christmas.” He murmured, running a hand up Yunho’s slick back, letting it rest on the back of his head. It sounded slightly ridiculous given that they just had mindblowing sex, but it felt right. It _was_ the first time he truly appreciated the holiday as an adult.

 

“Merry Christmas,” he could feel the smile against his neck, “I hope you like your present.”

 

Unsure about what Yunho was referring to, Changmin nodded, thinking about all the things that the man had done for him in the past two weeks. Yunho himself was his Christmas present. No, make that his Christmas miracle.

 

Perhaps he needed to start believing in a higher power.

 

The next morning, he didn’t know whether to thank or curse whoever it was sitting up there, because it was obviously bored and needed to toy with his fate.

 

By some strange coincidence, someone had recorded his performance at the church and uploaded it onto the net, turning the song into an overnight sensation. His manager had woken him up by calling to yell about him being a clever bastard who managed to circumvent the rules, and also to congratulate him on a new single slated for release almost after his current album activities were done.

 

It also guaranteed the success of his current album, given that his bad public image had been utterly reversed with news of him volunteering at the church and the popularity of his self composed song.

 

He’d hung up after giving him strict instructions not to be late for hair and make-up, slated to start in an hour’s time.

 

Changmin sat, phone in hand, stunned by the change of events. He looked around for Yunho, wanting to share the wonderful news.

 

“Yunho!”

 

Silence.

 

“Yah!”

 

Not getting a response, Changmin walked out of his room, puzzled. Aside from the garishly lit Christmas tree, there was no sign of Yunho. The clothes, magazines and plushie that he had smuggled from home while Jihye was out were all gone. His last stop was the bathroom, still hoping that the toothbrush that had sat in his tumbler by the sink for the past three days would still be there.

 

The last straw was when he’d heard the front door open, and he had ran out grinning, thinking that it was just Yunho playing a prank on him to kick off Christmas morning.

 

But all he saw was Jihye, this time all demure and without a broom, giving him some lame crap that she was sorry that she had been ill, and she was now officially taking over as his housekeeper.

 

And suddenly Changmin knew what it all meant:

 

After doing his job of giving him Christmas, Yunho had fired himself, packed up and walk out of his life.

 

What he didn’t know was that he had single handedly ruined Christmas for him.

 

*

 

This was probably the worst Christmas Yunho had ever had.

 

After sneaking out of Changmin’s apartment, bag in hand, he had switched off his phone, certain that it would be ringing non-stop the moment Changmin came to the realization that he had left. He couldn't face him yet, not when he needed all his strength to do this.

 

It would be okay after a few days, Changmin would get busy with his work and forget. Especially since the video he had uploaded had gone viral and the feedback had been overwhelming.

 

Changmin had gone from a pop star to a nation-wide phenomenon overnight.

 

That video had been his final gift to the man he had fallen in love with, and he’d known that it would be the final snip of the tenuous thread that held them both together.

 

Yunho found himself standing in busy Myeongdong, amidst throngs of happy tourists, giggling couples and excited teenagers, staring up at the giant poster of the man who had managed to seep into his very being.

 

At least he had the memories to keep him going, and one day, perhaps he will be able to walk past a billboard of Changmin and not want to cry.

 

He took out his phone and snapped a picture.

 

The day yawned before him, empty and utterly meaningless.

 

Yunho picked up his bags and turned to head home, hating the sight of the laughing couples that just seemed to be everywhere.

 

Christmas day was the worse day to be out when one was single and alone.

 

It was ramyeon for dinner again, with Jihye staying out late to party with her friends, celebrating the recovery of her illness. She had gone to Changmin’s apartment earlier this morning, after he’d called her the day before to tell her that he was ready to handover the job.

 

“Finally! I thought you were going to be a permanent fixture in the house, especially getting your claws into him and all.” His own sister had sniped, and Yunho had laughed it off, telling her that he was going to keep his day job and that the holiday was over.

 

There was no point going into details. It would hurt less not having to tell her the full story and having to answer the thousand and one questions that he knew his sister would have.

 

Yunho didn’t know if he had the answers.

 

How would he even explain falling in love with the man who is the country’s biggest pop star in two short weeks and then leaving so that he wouldn’t die a little bit every day watching him move further out of reach?

 

Despite himself, Yunho found himself switching on the television, wanting to kick himself as his fingers automatically pushed the buttons of the remote to the music channel.

 

_Sucker._

He ignored his inner voice and anxiously listened out for the emcee’s announcement for Changmin’s comeback stage.

Yunho sat through an hour and a half of mind-numbing performances of songs that didn’t make much sense to him, but it was nice to watch the dancing, some of the youngsters actually pulled off a half decent job. Not like he was an expert himself, but he could at least tell who were going through the motions and the ones who were born with rhythm.

 

And of course, Changmin had to be the closing act.

 

He looked different. With hair slicked back and full make up on. He seemed, harder and older, the ‘fuck you’ attitude oozing from every pore of his body. It wasn’t the man he had gotten to know for the past two weeks, Changmin at his worse was still softer, more vulnerable, more…human.

 

He hated that this was the version of Changmin that the world saw and loved. The fan chants that accompanied the song was frenzied and almost loud enough to drown out the music that Yunho thought was slick, but totally lack depth. And all at once, Yunho was fiercely glad that he had given the video to the public to see what kind of man he truly was.

 

It was close to midnight when Changmin appeared on the set once again for his second performance, and this time, it was to perform the song that had now become a much-anticipated release. It was positioned as Changmin’s Christmas gift to his fans.

 

The doorbell rang, and Yunho wanted to curse at the bad timing. If it was Jihye without her keys, she would be in very very deep trouble.

 

It rang again, and this time, very insistently.

 

Yunho flung down the remote and ran to the door to throw it open, ready to give his sister a piece of his mind.

 

His mouth snapped shut at the sight of the lanky figure leaning against the wall of the corridor, one long finger still pressing down on the doorbell.

 

Was he seeing things?

 

Yunho could still hear Changmin’s soulful voice drifting down the hallway from the television in the living room, but yet...he was there. Face scrubbed free of make up, hair slightly wet, and simply dressed in a jacket and jeans.

 

His heart leapt to his throat. It’s only been a day, but yet he had missed him so much.

 

“Are you letting me in or what?”

 

But yet he couldn’t move, all he could do was stare.

 

“What are you doing here?” Yunho jerked a thumb towards the living room, “Aren’t you… there?”

 

And ask stupid questions.

 

“It’s called a pre-recording,” Looking around him quickly, Changmin hissed, “I can’t stay out here for long for fuck’s sake, can you let me in?” his tone softened, eyes pleading, “Please?”

 

Yunho stood aside mutely, slightly embarrassed that he seemed to have lost all common sense.  They both stood in hallway awkwardly, or at least, it was him feeling extremely uncomfortable, poking at the floor with his big toe, uncertain of what to say.

 

 “You don’t get to run off just like that and expect me to be okay.” Changmin was looking at him expectantly, “What happened to giving me a Christmas present? You said that I was supposed to like it.”

 

Yunho’s head snapped up, eyes wide with surprise, “What?! Didn’t you like the video?”

 

He felt the other man go still, “So it was _you_.” He shook his head and laughed in disbelief, “You single handedly changed the course of my career. And that’s what you call a Christmas present?”

 

Changmin reached out as if making a move to touch him, but his hand stopped in mid-air and dropped to his side, “Why did you leave? Did you know how frantic I was when I couldn’t reach you for the entire day?”

 

“I thought it would easier for you this way…”

 

“Easier…” he shoved a hand through his hair, looking like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or strangle him. He chose to stare at the ceiling, as if looking at Yunho might make him lose control, “If only you knew how lost I felt while having to go through the day not knowing where you went, and having to sing wondering WHY…”

 

He swallowed, and shifted to glare at him instead.

 

“AND… Instead of being able to go home to celebrate the last five minutes of Christmas with the man I love, I had to do a pre-recording for the producers, turn down an encore performance and not show up to collect my trophy during the show, all that just to drive forty five minutes across Seoul to reach his godforsaken house. How does it make it any easier?”

 

All Yunho wanted to do at that moment was to fling himself at him, but Changmin didn’t look like he was done with giving him a lecture.

 

“You don’t get to walk into my fucking life, and then walk away after fucking turning it upside down without sticking around to clean up the mess.” The lecture was turning into a tirade, “The first time was already bad enough, you turned my shirt pink, and made my washing machine explode. And now… you’ve made me into this fucking blabbering idiot who don’t really mind messes and … and…” Changmin sighed, looking defeated, “I even like the fucking purple lights.”

 

Yunho was already starting to smile, “We could look for something more tasteful the next time… something that is more… _you._ ”

 

“The ugly thing stays,” Changmin snapped, eyes narrowing, taking a threatening step forward, “There will be a next Christmas right? And the three hundred and sixty-five days in between?”

 

He couldn’t answer. Everything that Changmin was asking from him was what he wanted to give, except that Yunho didn’t think he had anything else left to offer.

 

“I’ll fire Jihye and make you my housekeeper if that’s what it takes.” Reading Yunho’s silence correctly, Changmin was resorting to threats, “Fuck it… you can be my PA if you want, the current one’s an even bigger idiot than you.”

 

Yunho started laughing. He had been an fool thinking that he could walk away and Changmin would let him. He should have known better.

 

That man would stalk him halfway across the world and then complain about his business class seats being uncomfortable.

 

Changmin looked like a cat that got the cream, knowing that he had won, he reached out to pull him closer, locking his arms around him.

 

“I don’t think next year’s present would be as spectacular though.” Yunho said soberly, it was his last defense, a weak one, considering he was already curling into the embrace.

 

“Please. No more presents,” Changmin gave a mock shudder and rolled his eyes, “I can do without the rollercoaster ride.”

 

“Besides…” He continued, slowly back-walking him in the direction of his bedroom, his pleasant tone belying the predatory gleam in his eyes.

 

Yunho frantically tried to remember the time that Jihye mentioned she would be arriving home.

 

“All I want for Christmas…” Changmin kicked the door shut, and leaned to bury his lips into the side of his neck, “And every other day…”

 

All thoughts of Jihye flew out of his head.

 

“… is you.”

 


End file.
